When you have kids, they can often drive you crazy byhounding for a dog or a cat.  Someparents are reluctant to give their child a pet due to fear of the animalharming the child being forefront in their minds. There are many dog and cat breedsthat you can have in your home that will do really well for you and your family?evenwith small children. There are, of course, some precautions to make.

First, we will look at dog breeds. There are certain dogbreeds that demand respect and kids often don't have those feelings. Mostchildren do not understand that pulling on the pet's tail or stroking tooroughly can not only harm the animal, but make it resentful of the child. Youcan of course work with your child to help him develop proper pet-handlingbehavior, but you should first consider starting out with a pet breed that isbest for children. For instance, the following dog breeds are well-known forbeing especially good with children: St. Bernards, Golden and Labrador Retrievers,Great Danes, German Shepherds, Poodles, Siberian Huskies, and Mastiffs. Whileyou do have to be careful about their size and make sure they are socializedand housetrained, they make wonderful pets. They are very affectionate and tendto exercise care and protectiveness of the children. These dog breeds will alsostand up to a certain amount of abuse. If the child pulls on the tail oraccidentally falls into them they are more likely to be worried and protectiverather than distasteful or aggressive. You do have to teach your kid to berespectful, but generally these dogs as pets will offer a wonderful familyaddition.

In general, most cats are going to have issues withchildren. With cats, who are not as easy to train, you will find they tend tonip or bite a child who pulls their ears/tail or hurts them in any way. It is thecat's way of showing anger. Cats by nature tend to choose one owner. This ownerusually showers them with affection and treats them properly. If you dointroduce a cat into your household, you should make sure your children are oldenough to understand and exercise the proper treatment of it. Typically youwant a child no younger than three dealing with any pet, especially cats. Atthis age the kid is old enough to understand right from wrong and deal with thepain if the cat bites them for a good reason. Some cats you may want in yourhome include the Abyssinian, American bobtail, American shorthair, Balinese,Birman, Bombay, Burmese, Manx, Persian, and Siberian.  Typically you should not have a Siamese cataround children, as they tend to be very moody and are often one who demandsrespect. When you consider getting a pet for your child, it is important torealize that not all pets are great for a home.